Advances in technology have not only driven the miniaturization of devices, but have also spurred increasing mobility among users of the technology. Receiving information at the appropriate time and at the appropriate place is given a high premium in society.
Users now can receive pertinent information on demand using their cellular phones to make and to receive phone calls, to keep appointments in a calendar or even to navigate through the internet. However, such information is given to the user as a function of time, or at the request of the user. For example, the user might need to manually access a personal data assistant to retrieve such information. Thus, for example, although a user may have a notation in her calendar to pick up milk at the grocery store, this information may be forgotten when the user is actually in the vicinity of the grocery store on the drive home. The user therefore must remember to view notations when at particular locations.
In another example, if a user forgets to switch the mode of her cellular phone from a loud ringing mode to a silent vibrating mode upon entering a conference room, then an annoying disturbance may be created during a meeting if the cellular phone rings. A similar annoyance often can occur at public places such as movie theaters or restaurants. The user would find it advantageous if a system automatically turned off the cellular phone or automatically switched the ringing mode to a silent vibrating mode by sensing that the user is entering a conference room in which meetings are typically held.
Accordingly, a conventional communications device relies heavily on the memory of its user. In such a manner, there exists a need to more fully automate the response of a communications device.